Our weekly roundup of news found at the intersection of media, politics, policy and technology, from the Shorenstein Center and from around the web. Sign up to receive Media and Politics Must Reads in your inbox each week. Also connect with us on Twitter and Facebook for more updates.
This Week at the Shorenstein Center
Campaign 2018: Improving Cyber Literacy in Political Campaigns A new paper by Donna Brazile, Joan Shorenstein Fellow (fall 2017) and former Democratic National Committee interim chair, examines whether political campaigns are up to the task of handling the threat of cyber attacks ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.
News from Fellows
Overhauling Digital Privacy In The EU. Tom Wheeler, Walter Shorenstein Media and Democracy Fellow, discussed the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation on On Point.
A Trade War Isn’t a Real War. Dipayan Ghosh, Joan Shorenstein Fellow, writes, “President Trump has a dangerous habit of justifying his trade policy on national-security grounds,” in The Atlantic.
From Polar Bears to People: Getting the Arctic Climate Change Story Right. Elizabeth Arnold, Joan Shorenstein Fellow, discussed how to bring the right kind of public attention to the Arctic at a recent panel discussion.
“Out of Many, One.” But Do We Have One American Identity? Sarah Smarsh, Joan Shorenstein Fellow, discussed shifting American identity on The Takeaway.
Press Freedom
- Trump suggests revoking reporters’ credentials, from Associated Press.
- RSF Index 2018: Hatred of journalism threatens democracies, from Reporters without Borders.
- The global threat to free media: Four ways journalism gets BLOC’d, from Poynter.
Technology
- Declining Majority of Online Adults Say the Internet Has Been Good for Society, from Pew Research Center.
- Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation is coming May 25. How have news publishers prepared? From Nieman Lab.
- New data casts doubt on Facebook’s commitment to quality news, from Columbia Journalism Review.
News Business
- Canadian newsprint tariffs start to take a toll on U.S. newspaper industry, from the Los Angeles Times.
- Funnel occasional users to habitual and paying loyalists, from American Press Institute.
Misinformation
- Congress just published all the Russian Facebook ads used to try and influence the 2016 election, from Recode.
- People who are delusional, dogmatic, or religious fundamentalists are more likely to believe fake news, from Nieman Lab.
- This Facebook chatbot wants to help you stay ahead of fake news, from Poynter.
Partisanship in Media
- Salem executives pressured radio hosts to cover Trump more positively, emails show, from CNN.
- Voices on the left are rising in the US. Why aren’t they in mainstream media? From Columbia Journalism Review.
